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“[S]he struck against a reef … the scene which then took place was fearful in the extreme. The passengers came rushing up the hatchways, some in their night-clothes, and all in the greatest disorder, screaming and wringing their hands frantically, while the ship kept rolling from side to side with the greatest violence, sometimes appearing as if she would have gone on her beam ends altogether…” Ebenezer Miller, passenger (Preston Chronicle, Saturday 11 June 1853)

The loss of the emigrant ship William & Mary made news around the world not once but twice in 1853. First when her American captain reported the vessel lost before his eyes in the shark-infested waters of the Bahamas and the death of over 200 left on board, then again when the truth emerged – a tale of abandonment, desperation, and the incredible heroism of a wrecker and his crew. Discover the people involved in this mysterious shipwreck, including:

~ Susannah Diamond, the English 19-year-old hoping for a new life in St. Louis with her family, husband and unborn child

~ Izaak Roorda, one of a group of 87 Dutch emigrants seeking to settle in Wisconsin, who found the lifeboat more perilous than the sinking ship

Over 160 years later, Gill Hoffs reveals the terrifying true events that drove one man to murder passengers with a hatchet and others to abandon their family and friends – and a wrecker to risk his life for total strangers.

“A terrific, rollicking adventure” – Simon Garfield.

My new book “The Lost Story of the William & Mary: The Cowardice of Captain Stinson” will be published by Pen & Sword in September 2016 in the UK and available elsewhere in the world around new year. The hardback will retail at £19.99 and is available from the usual suspects online (including http://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/The-Lost-Story-of-the-William-and-Mary-Hardback/p/12290) as well as plenty of bookshops – it’s worth seeing if your library has it in stock, too.

I learned about this wreck while researching contemporary wrecks for my first shipwreck book “The Sinking of RMS Tayleur: The Lost Story of the ‘Victorian Titanic‘” (Pen & Sword, 2014, 2015). The William & Mary sailed from Liverpool and wrecked in the Bahamas while the RMS Tayleur was still being built in Warrington, England. Both ships were packed with emigrants headed for new lives overseas but the similarities end there. If the story of the Tayleur made you sad, the tragedy of the William & Mary will make you burn with rage!

There are several talks and events lined up this autumn to help promote this new book; I’ve included the ones I believe are open to the public below so do come along, the more the merrier! I’m always keen to hear from readers, descendants of people involved with the shipwrecks I write about, or organizations seeking a speaker so do feel free to contact me on twitter via @GillHoffs [https://twitter.com/GillHoffs] or by email at gillhoffs [at] Hotmail [dot] co [dot] uk to discuss availability and fees. I have quite a hectic schedule at the best of times but if I can help, I will. Likewise, if you would like a review copy for your publication, an interview, or an article, do get in touch.

Today we have the lovely Gill Hoffs on the blog. Nutella fiend Gill has appeared on BBC’s ‘Coast’ and is a hard-working writer.

Thanks, Gill, for choosing to review 2015 on this blog!

Vic x

2015 was a great year for you. Do you have a favourite memory professionally?

Joining forces with my non-fiction agent, Jennie, and then soon after signing a contract with Pen & Sword for my second shipwreck book, “The Cowardice of Captain Stinson: The Lost Story of the William & Mary, and How 200 Victorians came back from the Dead” was marvellous. I can’t wait to hold my comp copies in my hands then cuddle them, take them to dinner, toast them with a pink milkshake, and cuddle them some more…

And how about a favourite moment from 2015 generally?

Appearing on the legendary BBC programme “Coast” in July was beyond brilliant, and doing the publicity…

In honour of her TV debut tonight (BBC2 at 8pm), we have Gill Hoffs on the blog talking about her life as a writer.

Vic x

Tell us a little about yourself…

I have the tastebuds of a four-year-old and the skin of a teenager, a cat that drools on my face while I sleep (thanks, Coraline – no, really), and an interest in the macabre, unusual, and grisly side of history. I spend my writing-time researching forgotten shipwrecks, writing about all sorts, and giving talks and interviews, some of which are available on YouTube. I recently started a new job as a carer in a residential home for women with dementia, which I love, and I grew up on the Scottish coast but now call Warrington home, though my son would prefer it if we travelled the world in a cruise liner/skyscraper combo instead.

I grew up on the Ayrshire coast in Scotland but now consider Warrington in the north west of England home.

A little about yourself e.g. your education, family life etc.

After gaining a BSc in Psychology from the University of Glasgow, I worked in children’s homes until I had my son. I’m married to a scientist and owned by Coraline Cat. I’m also the world’s worst vegetarian – I loathe fruit and veg – and would happily exist on chocolate, Nutella, and deep fried pizza and chips if I didn’t have to set some kind of example for my son.

Fiona: Tell us your latest news?

I recently signed with the Red Sofa Literary Agency and I’m delighted to now have my nonfiction work represented by Jennie Goloboy. It’s really exciting to…

I won’t be blogging so often this year as I’m conducting research for my next shipwreck book, but it’s always lovely to take a break to chat about writing, especially with someone as pleasant as Nicole. If you’re curious about whether I have a messy or super-neat writing area, or ever read my work aloud while channelling William Shatner, read on!

Gill Hoffs grew up along the Scottish coast and now lives in Warrington with her family, Coraline Cat, and never quite enough chocolate. After gaining a degree in psychology she worked with children with a variety of needs throughout the UK before having her son in 2007. She is the author of The Sinking of RMS Tayleur: The Lost Story of the ‘Victorian Titanic’ (Pen & Sword, 2014) and Wild: a Collection (Pure Slush, 2012), as well as over a hundred short stories and articles published online and in print. Gill is currently writing her next novel and another non-fiction shipwreck book so (more) chocolate is extremely welcome.

Once there was a little girl who lived by the sea. So far, so fairytale. Fast forward a bit and she’s in a dark kitchen with a bad man who is quietly telling her he can make her disappear so efficiently that no-one will even remember she existed in the first place. He knows the police, he has “connections”. If he chooses, she will disappear. And no-one will ever know her unhappy ending. Or care.

Unfortunately, this isn’t an updated Grimm’s tale or intro to a thriller. My approach to researching and writing my book “The Sinking of RMS Tayleur: The Lost Story of the ‘Victorian Titanic’” (Pen & Sword, 2014) was affected by my experiences as a kid, but it is definitely a story of those involved directly with the tragedy, not the author writing it. It’s only when Paul asked me to write a guestpost on…

Allen Miles has a new collection of short stories out soon (available as a print edition or ebook), so instead of asking him about that I thought I’d quiz him on the title. Somehow this led to discussion of Paul Daniels and the Cheshire Cat. Do feel free to ask him your own questions in the comments.

Allen Miles, authorly bloke

Q: The title “This is how you disappear” suggests you’ve either given some thought to disappearing yourself or to how you would advise someone else to disappear, so prepare to be grilled on that. How and under what circumstances would you ever disappear, or wouldn’t that appeal as an option to you?

It is an option that appeals to me at roughly 6:58 each morning, which is the time I arrive at work. (Mr Miles’ colleagues wish to point out that the above is a blatant lie, as he is late pretty much every day.) The idea of disappearing is incredibly romantic to me, from Richey Edwards to Reggie Perrin, I’ve always admired the idea of simply vanishing off the face of the Earth. It started at the fag-end of my first co-habitation with a female in my nineteenth year; we were officially separate although still living together, a amazingly hostile atmosphere had been brewing and one tea-time we’d had a horrific falling out over whose turn it was to clean the hamster cage out. I took beverages with some friends that night in order to relieve the stress and ended up in a fleeting romantic tryst with a girl called Lauren who had a tattoo of a Ribena berry on her left shoulder. I stood admiring her collection of boxing videos in the small hours of the morning as she prepared us some Ovaltine and I realised that she was the only person in the world who knew where I was. Oh, how I enjoyed that feeling! I left as the sun rose feeling somewhat the worse for wear, hoping to see her again soon. Sadly, I’d taken her number down wrong and when I rang it I got through to the local branch of Heron Frozen Foods. I was made aware of a fabulous discount on Findus Crispy Pancakes though, so all was not lost.

Q: Who would you like to help disappear – can be a real person or a fictional character – either to protect them from the harsh and unpleasant realities of their world or to just get them to bugger off?

I would like Piers Morgan and Simon Cowell to disappear, both of whom are fictional characters, because my mate Dunham is determined to murder them both with his bare hands, and he’s a double-hard bastard. I don’t care if he kills them, they’re ghastly, I just don’t want him to go to jail because he lends me money from time to time.

Q: You work as a perioperative support worker when you aren’t writing or dadding or sleeping, but if you’d been a magician or conjurer, what kind would you have been and why? Top hat, rabbit, fake flowers, doves or the street magic type or someone sitting in a Perspex cube looking mournful?

I wanted to be a magician when I was about eight. I had a Fisher Price magic box and a cape, but it never worked out for me because of Thatcher. I met Paul Daniels and the lovely Debbie McGee once in my former life as a barista. Daniels never spoke to me and seemed deeply unpleasant, but the lovely Debbie was extremely friendly and I was able to buy a slice of her face with which I was able to repair a hole in my favourite winklepicker.

The sleeping is something I haven’t really taken to as an adult, possibly as a result of the dadding. I find myself up at seven most mornings, the blood barely moving in my veins, hoping that my intravenous caffeine starter pack that I ordered from Betterware sometime ago will arrive. An interesting bi-product of this is that I have become fascinated by a pop act on Nick Jr called Go!Go!Go! My daughter loves them and despite the fact that the nineteen year-old-punk in me is howling in anguish, I have found myself becoming a fan. I know the words to all the songs and I know all their names. Ten years ago I would have probably hated them but these days I find myself imagining going for a pint with Steve, getting married and settling down with Holly, then ruining it all by having an affair with Jade. Don’t start watching them, I think they may be some sort of Orwellian mind-control experiment for knackered parents.

Q: If you were the Cheshire Cat would you be tempted to make only your tail appear, like a furry snake, and freak people out, and if so, who would be top of your shock list? Or would you make another part of its anatomy the focus?

I don’t care. I loathe cats. I loathe both of my own cats. They are sinister calculating bastards who exist solely to make me unhappy. When the aliens land they’re gonna come into my house and see me on my hands and knees cleaning their litter tray out while they sit in my place on the settee, leaving hairs all over it and preening themselves. Who are these aliens going to think rule the world? The cats, obviously. They have to be stopped.

Oh, incidentally Hoffs, I have a book out soon. It is called This Is How You Disappear and it is a collection of short(ish) stories and prose. It is being published by Abrachadabra Books, who are the coolest imprint on the planet, the literary equivalent of Factory Records. It is hilarious in some places, upsetting in others. It contains loads of drinking and smoking, a jazz fan who watches Dangermouse, a pub chef who’s obsessed with Bruce Springsteen, a kindly middle-aged hippy nurse who ends up living with a helpless young pisshead, a computer geek who gets seduced by a stunning Scottish sales rep who’s not all that she seems, and a shambolic punk band who have a rather intense night in East London. There are lots of trenchcoats, lots of rain and lots of blood. It is neo-noir at its finest. It is available on both Kindle and paperback formats and the cover art is utterly superb, due to the almost supernatural talent of my good buddy Kenny Crow. Please buy it, my daughter is going through shoes like nobody’s business.

Allen Miles is a six-foot three anaemic stick insect with a bit of a cold. He lives in Hull with his wife and daughter and annual purchase rates. When he’s not writing he’s either watching old footage of Matthew Le Tissier on YouTube at one in the morning while drunk or moonlighting as an Ellen Degeneres look-a-like. His rants, along with those of Hoffs herself and other ludicrously talented writers such as Paul Featherstone, Andi Ware and Martyn Taylor, are to be found at http://www.sittingontheswings.com